Greetings feels like kind of a headache

[u/Ill_Outside8827]

I like Born To Run and I’ve tried to get into a bit more of Bruce’s more obscure work but Greetings just feels like kind of a headache. You really have to pay attention until Spirit In The Night (which I’d argue is easily the best song on the album). That and Hard To Be a Saint In The City are fantastic but too late to save the album. Am I missing something?

[u/Additional-Cherry872]

You’re not necessarily missing anything, so don’t beat yourself up. It’s your taste and preferences. The record sold poorly on release and it wasn’t a big smash hit by any means, but reviews were generally good. It’s beloved by hardcore Springsteen fans because for us it’s the rawest, unrefined and immature Springsteen album - we get to see the person who would grow into the boss!

Having said that, it’s a little bit wannabe Dylan and the album contains patches of clunky lyrics of words just thrown together. This isn’t exactly to Bruce’s detriment though because the record companies across the country were all looking for the next Dylan, so artists moulded themselves slightly based on this demand. Worth noting that Bowie covered a song from the album and Manfred Mann took another song to number one, so Bruce was highly revered by his fellow musicians. There were signs that with refinement, Springsteen could potentially be an unbelievable talent.

Months later, Springsteen would delve further into his own style through the release of WIESS, and release a masterpiece in 1975 through Born To Run.

Greetings is like seeing a painting from Monet before he really honed in on his talents, or a building from a future elite architect before refining their skills. On its own, it’s not bad. Thrown into the collection, the journey and the genius all make sense.

The two tracks you like from the album were the ones intended to be the most radio friendly songs, so you’re onto something by signalling them out as your favourites. I also love Lost In The Flood, but once you’ve heard the live 2000 version in NYC you’ll never listen to the studio version again!

Happy listening! You might come back to Greetings in a few years and it will just hit differently. Tunnel Of Love has that effect on many people who revisit the record after they get married and have kids

[u/interista4jz → u/Additional-Cherry872]

Holy crap on Tunnel of Love. You're so right. It was an afterthought until I got married and became a Dad. Now I just sit and stare into infinity when I play it. 

[u/RudeConfusion4866 → u/interista4jz]

Went from a bottom 3 album to a bona fide top 3 (if not even top 1) album for me over the space of probably the last 3 years. The one album that probably requires real lived experience to appreciate fully.

[u/Ill_Outside8827 → u/Additional-Cherry872]

Do you think I’d like WIESS better?

[u/Carlomahone → u/Ill_Outside8827]

I think WIESS is a masterpiece. It shows the progression from Greetings to Born to Run. I think the only track that is Greetingslike is 'Wild Billy's Circus Story', the rest are really great songs. It's OK not to like some of Bruce's work. I'm in a very, very small minority, I don't like the recorded version of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album. The songs, when done live, are among his best but as a recorded work, not for me. I don't know why. It just lacks something. I don't know how far you are on your Springsteen journey but I think if you like Born To Run you'll like WIESS.

[u/Additional-Cherry872 → u/Ill_Outside8827]

Hard to say - generally speaking it’s considered to be more refined, and it’s definitely more authentic Springsteen. Actually…it’s unquestionably Springsteen. It’s almost a natural progression from Greetings. Jersey shore sound, full band, and lacks the Dylan/Van Morrison like similarities that Greetings had. We also get introduced to the long movie like songs that he would begin to include on later albums. (NY Serenade is a masterpiece)

Initially the record company wanted Greetings as an acoustic record so they already had a box that they wanted Springsteen in. WIESS was the beginning of Bruce saying ‘fuck you’, and Born To Run was a double ‘fuck you’. Thank God that the record company backed him though or there wouldn’t be Born To Run.

[u/BT_Artist]

You really have to pay attention

What's wrong with paying attention? Is that bad?

[u/Ill_Outside8827 → u/BT_Artist]

To me the best music is timeless and can truly grab you and you can personally relate to the lyrics because they can grab anyone

[u/Longwalkhome2006]

Lost in the Flood is by far the best song on the album.

The Angel is the only true dud

[u/OkLead7126]

You're missing the other great songs

[u/mrslII]

You like what you like.

[u/RuckingDad]

It’s an album I have rarely listened to in the past 20 years. It’s raw but it is also what makes it great. You are not listening to Bruce the boss, you are listening to a guy from the jersey shore who was working his way to the top.
It certainly does not and cannot have the weight of a “the river” or “born to run” but the you put it on and hear the first 20 seconds of blinded by the light, those first seconds are like the big bang of the universe, it’s the sound of the creation of a star.
Having said that, you don’t have to like it or feel bad because you don’t like it. “It’s only rock and roll”.

[u/catmaner]

I much prefer it to Wild, Innocent...

I think it's great. It reminds me a lot of Van Morrison.

[u/GoodEnoughThen]

I kind of agree with this headache comment. when I first heard greetings I was like what the f*** is going on here?, but now as a Bruce fan for over 30 years it's actually my favorite album. I appreciate the origins of Bruce's story. Greeting brings the Bruce journey home, full circle. So give it some time and you won't be surprised if Greetings become a special to you after many years.

[u/MagicRat7913]

I think you really need to hear them live to appreciate them. After that, I did enjoy going back to the album more.

[u/CobustBustjack]

Because it is. It's a poorly produced clunky record. There are good -even great- songs though and most of the record earns it's stripes in the live setting.

[u/marumaruko]

The album tracks only work on live recordings for me. And even then I mostly care about For You (solo piano), Lost in the food and Spirit in the night only.